⊱Ça fait mal⊰

It hurts

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{Double update because you all wanted this hehe}

The first thought that struck me when I entered the venue was leaving the place before anyone I knew saw me.

White veils and flower garlands were falling from the ceilings like beautiful showers. Rose bouquets of the same color with exquisite and ornate vases were decorating every corner, every space. It was a fairy tale scenery. The whole thing was blinding and if I had worn something not white colored, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

My heart was pounding harder with each step I took, and my limbs were trembling, ready to bolt out of the building. Trying to regulate my hard breathing, I gripped my purse and closed my eyes for a moment.

Eunsook, get a grip on yourself. You're not a human. You're not involved in such things.

Opening my eyes, I took a deep breath and decided to wander around the area to calm myself before the ceremony. Men and women of all ages were dressed in formal attire and chatting with each other about the bride and the groom.

Forgetting that I wasn't invisible anymore, I walked from room to room out of curiosity and passed by people I didn't know and bridesmaids who were fixing each other's hairs and giggling to themselves. All of them looked so excited and giddy, it was cute. It reminded me of my friends who were long gone.

I wondered if they were living happily now.

"You know that you're the only one I love, right?"

I passed by a room and accidentally caught a glimpse of a couple kissing each other so eagerly. The woman didn't even try to dress formally, wearing a short pink summer dress instead. What a place to be kissing like that...

Shuffling past that, I marveled at how luxurious the place looked. It was obvious that the bride and the groom were filthy rich. A venue like this would cost a fortune.

"Eunsook?"

As I arrived at the hallway, I turned my head to see Bambam walking towards me with a friendly smile. If I was worried about sticking out among the crowd, he was definitely aiming for that with his hot pink colored suit and gelled blonde hair.

"Oh, hey. You look... dashing."

His smile widened into a proud smirk. "Thanks. You look ho- gorgeous. You look gorgeous."

I wanted to roll my eyes but fought against it. "Thanks."

"Come on. Jungkook is sitting around the middle in the ceremony hall." He led me inside the bustling hall and towards where the dark haired man was sitting alone.

He looked stunning. A black suit hugged his body perfectly and my heart skipped a beat when his glimmering doe eyes captured me.

"Hey! Thanks for coming," he chimed, grinning as we took our seats on either side of him. "You look... beautiful."

It was the first time I heard him compliment my appearance and I wanted to scream out loud.

"Thank you," I whispered. "You look very handsome."

Trying to shake off my nervousness, I looked around the room and remembered something. Why was he sitting here alone?

"Where's Jia?"

Jungkook smiled softly. "She's busy with job interview, said she'll come right when it ends."

"Oh," was all I could say. It was nice not seeing her with him but the downcast look he was trying to suppress made me want to drag her here and force her to sit beside him.

"Everyone, please take your seats!"

The ceremony was beginning and the usual yet wistful music started playing. Everyone was taking their places and I couldn't bring my head up to see how it was playing out.

Unable to watch and witness all the happy faces, the excited chatters and the blissful event that would last a lifetime for the main couple, I had my head hanging low and occupied myself, playing with my rings. Perhaps I shouldn't have come.

I actually believed that I would be fine after all those years.

"Do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

Women awwed at the bride's answer while I tried my best to keep myself from shaking. It took every fiber in my body to stop myself from running out of there and locking myself alone in a room.

I jolted when a warm hand squeezed mine and looked up at Jungkook who was watching me in worry.

"Are you okay?"

Forcing a smile, I nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."

When I turned to the front, the couple wasn't there and the others were leaving the room with content smiles. Even Bambam wasn't on his seat, walking away with his arm around a girl.

"It's time for the wedding reception," Jungkook explained, pulling me up on my feet by my hand. "You seem so out of it. Are you sure you're okay? We can leave if you want."

I wanted to say yes but I just shook my head, smiling, and locked my arm around his to walk out. "I'm fine~ I just imagined myself in your cousin's place and got embarrassed."

Suppressing a smile, he shook his head and we passed by groups of crowds to arrive at the wedding reception. The place was the same as the hall room, decorated in blinding lights, white canopies, and flower wreaths. Beautiful yet suffocating.

Jungkook suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at something, and I followed his gaze to find his mother sitting on a table, laughing boisterously and leaning into an older man beside her. If I hadn't seen her with a different guy before, I would've thought they were married from how 'friendly' they were acting.

"Is he a relative?"

He turned to me, snapping out of it, and shook his head. Of course he wasn't. His mother was flipping her curled wig-like hair every second coupled with a giggle, and shamelessly pushing her lumps into the grinning guy. It somehow irked me so bad. This was a wedding reception for fucks sake. Families and friends were gathered together.

"I'm so ready to throw hands," I whispered more to myself but he caught that.

"No, you're not."

At first, this wedding was unbearable to me. But now, this became unbearable to him, too. Still, he continued walking us to a table far away from her, the one where Bambam was sitting with that girl he was walking with.

I opened the whiskey that was sitting on the table and poured myself a glass. I couldn't handle anything sober.

"Drink?" I asked Jungkook who shook his head and opened a can of soda before taking huge gulps of it.

Downing the drink, I watched the short video they were playing on the stage to distract myself. It didn't work when I recognized the groom.

"Is that... the groom? The one marrying your cousin?"

Jungkook turned to the stage before looking at me in confusion and Bambam followed. "Yes. You know him?"

At his confirmation, my blood started boiling and I gripped the shots glass until my knuckles turned white. It was the man who was kissing that other woman with the summer dress after confessing his one true love for her. She looked nothing like the bride.

"I'll kill him," I gritted out and snatched a knife off the table before standing up.

But before I could walk away, Jungkook grabbed my arms and pulled me towards himself. Panic crossed his features when I tried hard to break free from his hold.

"Eunsook, stop! What are you trying to do?!"

"He's cheating on your cousin!" I said, shocking him. "That sweet young girl doesn't deserve this! She shouldn't be marrying that sinner!"

Tears brimmed my eyes out of nowhere and I wanted to break down. I wanted to stab the man thousands and millions of times and take him far away from her.

"Jungkook," I sniffled, dropping my head. "I can't accept this. He should be punished for cheating on her even on her wedding day, confessing his love for someone else just before his vow."

Pulling me onto his lap, he wrapped his arms around me and caressed my head, trying to placate me. I gripped his jacket and buried my face into his chest to silence my sobs.

"I'll deal with this," he said in hushed whispers, almost like he was afraid of scaring me. "Stay here with Bambam while I go talk. And I'll take us back home, okay?"

I nodded and whispered, "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Sook." A small peck was placed on my head. "Don't worry."

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"I'm sorry for making a scene."

Jungkook patted his bed when I walked into his room after changing and calming myself down. I regretted letting my emotions control me like that, and I was worried if he was annoyed by it.

I sat beside him on the bed and thanked him when he handed me a cup of hot chocolate.

"I know it's not my place to pry into your life but it seemed like a sensitive topic to you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Rubbing the handle of the cup out of nervousness, I nibbled on my bottom lip before holding his soft gaze. I didn't want to talk about it but the way his gentle dark eyes were holding me was like a comfort I had always needed.

"It's, uh, what happened to my sister actually..." I began, not wanting the spotlight on myself. "She got married to her high school love and things were going well, almost perfect at first. She never loved anyone else her whole life. She was very loyal. But her husband just changed."

Fears and scars resurfaced as I recalled the past. I unconsciously bundled my hair and held it.

"Her husband started abusing her, using her for his pleasure and robbed her of all her freedom. Social, emotional and physical. She only stayed at home and was never able to interact with anyone. Her husband would send his friends home and they would abuse her, too."

I bit my lips harshly to stop them trembling. "One day, while she was sneaking out after one of his friends tried to assault her, she caught him on a date with his mistress before they checked into a love hotel... Apparently, he had started cheating on her with so many women a few months after their marriage."

At that point, tears were falling from my eyes, and Jungkook was rubbing my back after scooting closer to me.

"Your cousin's wedding reminded me of that and I just..."

I placed the cup on the nightstand before covering my face with my hands. "I'm sorry."

Jungkook pulled me into his tight embrace and let me cry into his chest. His hug was everything I never knew I needed. It felt safe and I wanted to stay there forever, listening to his heartbeat and letting his warmth seep into me.

"What happened to your sister?"

"She... committed suicide."

His movement halted for a second. "I'm so sorry."

I nodded, placing my head against his chest.

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To think there are so many women living like that 😔

Jk should've let her murder him

Next chapter, we'll see Lust's past 🤭

Thank you for all the nice messages, sweeties 💜